2 Muni crashes in San Francisco — dozens hurt

A pair of nearly simultaneous Muni crashes in San Francisco Friday afternoon — one involving a big rig, the other two dump trucks — sent 23 people to the hospital and injured 17 others while shutting down roads and disrupting service on the transit system, authorities said.

At 1:29 p.m., an outbound 38-line bus collided with a dump truck near the intersection of Geary Boulevard and Buchanan Street in Japantown, according to the city Fire Department.

Seven minutes later, a Muni T-line light-rail train collided with a big rig near the intersection of Third Street and Innes Avenue in the Bayview.

Investigators said the wreck happened after the big rig driver made an illegal left turn from Third to Innes. The train was traveling north on Third when the collision occurred, they said.

Passenger Robert Williams said the train was packed. It had been slowing down as it pulled into the stop, he said.

“The next thing you know, I heard a loud screech and the train came to a sudden stop,” Williams said. “It was like an earthquake. Lots of people fell down.”

Speaking from the scene, he said he had neck and shoulder pain and was planning to take himself to the hospital for treatment.

The Muni train conductor had to be extricated due to damage to the front of the train, said Mindy Talmadge, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Fire Department. The conductor was expected to survive.

The big rig driver was at fault, but was not immediately cited, said police Officer Albie Esparza, a department spokesman. The driver was being interviewed by investigators.

The truck belongs to Total Transportation Services Inc. of Rancho Domiguez (Los Angeles County). A woman who answered the phone at the firm’s headquarters wouldn’t comment.

Chronicle reporter Kale Williams sent these photos from the scene in the Bayview:

Truck driver was making illegal left off of third, cut off train causing crash. No citation for driver yet, cops say. pic.twitter.com/ZtsFOFhViU

In the Japantown crash, 20 people were reported injured, with 12 transported to a hospital for treatment, the Fire Department said. Six had minor injuries, five had moderate injuries and one injury was considered serious.

The patient with the serious injuries was transported while conscious and breathing, authorities said. Eight people declined to be taken to a hospital.

The bus was traveling westbound on Geary Boulevard when the dump truck in front of it slammed on its brakes, authorities said. The bus swerved to avoid a crash but collided with a second dump truck.

In the Bayview crash, 20 people were hurt, mostly with minor to moderate injuries. Eleven people were transported to a hospital, while nine were treated at the scene.

Five of the injured were taken to San Francisco General Hospital and none seemed to be seriously injured, said Rachael Kagan, a hospital spokeswoman.

“They all appear to be doing well, which is good news,” she said.

No one from the Geary Street crash was brought to San Francisco General, she added, but it was unknown whether victims were taken to other local hospitals.

The area around both crash were cordoned off for much of the afternoon. The train crash delayed service on multiple Muni lines.